Chi Mc

This place is great for korean bar experience as you get to enjoy korean style friend chicken with beer.

This is kind of like Bonchon but the fries aren’t as good and the chicken fry is different. The spicy flavor is different and in general the outside breading is crispier/​lighter (may or may not be better to your taste). Our chicken was a bit dry in spots.
You should call ahead before stopping by. It seems a lot of people in the area are not used to how long it takes to cook korean fried chicken.
The service was actually really nice which is unusual.

Straight up now tell me do I wanna eat KFC forever?
Yes yes yes
Chi Mc reminds me of how much I love KFC. The wings have amazing flavor, the crunchiest of the crunch, and a hefty portion white meat. They check off all the characteristics of a perfect wing — Korean or not.
We also ordered the kimchi fried rice and it definitely feeds at least two as a side dish. It was very tasty, not disproportionately kimchi flavored or spicy, and the spam impeccably completes the dish.
Service was spotty, but I’m not here to make friends — I’m here to eat some wings.

Very much like Bön Chon. If we only had the honey soy I’d give it 4+ stars but the spicy had a burnt taste to it. The sweet potato fries were really good. I also enjoyed the salad that came with the wings.
It’s not as busy so service is quick and they were happy for us to preorder the wings so it was ready soon after we arrived.

Do not come here if you’re planning to have a quick dinner. My friend and I waited an hour and a half for 14 pieces of chicken wings!
Three tables were filled after we came in and they all got their food within 15 min and that is because they called early in advance. For someone coming from DC, how the heck am I supposed to know that?
We ordered an appetizer and it came out 35 min after ordering. Then 15 min later came out the salad. And then finally after being full. The wings came out.
Point of the story: call in advance and don’t come if you have no patience. Hanger is real.

Chi Mc is what Bön-​Chon should have been. Baller Korean fried chicken!
Best wings in the area — no doubt.
Pro tip: Call in and order in advance. Chicken takes 45+ minutes to get out. You’ll find yourself filling your belly with beer and fries while you wait if you don’t.

Service was meh, but food was so yummy! Got the seafood pancake, mozzarella sticks and their half and half wings. So delicious would definitely order take out!

Yum! I got half spicy/​half soy. They have a new sweet chili flavor, which I’ll try next time. The breading is thinner than at that other chicken place, and I actually enjoyed the wings a lot more here. I just wish the spicy was spicier. We got the large order of wings (I think it’s 20) and the price was $ 21 flat. We ordered to-​go and the order was ready when they said it’d be (we waited for a few mins arriving early).

If you don’t know about Korean fried chicken/​wings get yourself to Chi Mc NOW! The soy garlic chicken is addictive! It does take a little bit (15 – 20 mins is my usual experience), but it’s so worth it.
It’s been a few months since I last went & i don’t remember anything about the sides, so they’re obviously not as memorable as the chicken (good OR bad, so must’ve been at least ok).

1 star for services
4 stars for food
Overall experience — I will be generous and round it up to 3 stars
I arrived around 7pm on a Friday night with my girlfriend and it wasn’t busy at all. However, it took them 15 minutes to take our order and another 15 minutes to bring us our waters. 30 minutes to bring out waters?!? Not to mention, when they did come to our table to refill my water, my glass was empty for awhile. That’s not acceptable. Guess what? It took them an hour and half total to bring the chicken out to us…*SMH*
Let me remind you again that it wasn’t crowed at all. There were 3 waiters total and one was actually working hard. He was running around like a chicken with his head chopped off and the other two didn’t seem to be in much of a hurry to serve customers — talking and standing around. I observed that the larger parties who came in after us got their food before we did. I understand that I should only be reviewing on their food solely. However, I feel that food/​service go hand to hand to enhance the overall experience. I know that some may disagree with me, but this is just my opinion.
Okay, now the food. We ordered 20 wings total (10 soy garlic and 10 spicy soy garlic) and a basket of fries. The chicken was tasty and very crispy. I would have to say that their spicy soy garlic is probably better than Bonchons. Fries were crunchy and compliment the chicken well.
Overall, I would have been much happier if the service was more prompt. I highly RECOMMEND calling in ahead to place your order prior to coming in. Hopefully, they will hire more waiters who take initiative and value customer service.

Move over, BonChon.
After trying Chi Mc for the first time last weekend, I heavily debated the reigning korean fried chicken joint in Annandale!
DISCLOSURE: I am NOT a huge korean fried chicken («KFC») fan. In fact, the only occasions in which I eat «KFC» is when my friends or family crave it (I mean, I could understand why though: the double-​fried, crispy wings are great with white rice, and the side of radishes and coleslaw, but I usually feel super greasy or guilty after consuming just a few [this is extremely ironic and/​or hypocritical because I love regular fried chicken]).
BACK TO THE REVIEW: I was SUPER surprised upon biting into the first Chi Mc wing, because it did not taste overly-​heavy or greasy, (upon trying the wings here, I realized BonChon’s batter is way too thick…). The lighter, crispier crunch of the Chi Mc korean fried chicken was excellent in comparison.
The sides were plentiful, and of generous portions (crunchy pickled radish, fresh coleslaw), and the entrée we shared, Kimchi fried rice with egg and spam, was delicious.
To sum it up, everything tasted pretty good! Kudos to Chi Mc! It’s worth checking out if you are a fan of korean fried chicken.

It’s pretty good. Honestly, I can’t tell the difference between this and Bön Chon. They are both delicious.
I like bon chon for their consistent good experience with their waiters. Chi Mc’s waiter can be inconsistent. So, experience you get is not the same.
To the waiter: If we told you that we didn’t order ‘spicy’ there is no point arguing with us on the wrong order. Just apologize and bring in a new order. If we want to play with you, we would’ve eaten the wrong order then ask you to bring the right one. We told you the moment you brought the wrong dish, so own up.

The soy garlic wings here are the best! Service is really attentive and friendly as well.

Found this place out of luck cus my 6 yo wanted wings. Nice, friendly place. We came on a Sat at 7ish and it want that busy. Apparently this used to be Bön Chon. They have specials that include wings and beer, hey you can’t go wrong with that. The beer choices are either Miller or Yeungling (so?). Will update when we taste or food. Great music while we wait; my son and I have done the whip nae nae and now listening to Fetty (got me dancing so you get 5 stars)!!! Wings are AAAAMMMMAAAZZZINNGGGG!

While visiting a friend in Alexandria she and her fiancé told me that I HAD to have these wings before I left. They were not wrong. OMG.
I’ve never had Korean wings before but whatever they are doing at Chi Mc they are doing it RIGHT. We got take out — 2 orders of mozzarella sticks (which were gigantic and also AMAZING — probably top 5 mozzarella sticks I’ve ever had) an order of «spicy» wings and an order of «ginger non spicy» wings.
Chi Mc knows how to do take out. The wings and mozzarella sticks were HOT, fresh (hand fried wings) and not soggy at all. The wings were amazingly crispy and super flavorful without being overly spicy. I can only handle so much spice level heat, but these were sort of siracha meets tobasco with a Korean flair. The wings also came with a Korean cabbage slaw and pickled ginger pieces as well. SO DARN GOOD. I ate an entire tub of the slaw myself — it was perfect with the spicy wings.
If you are looking for unique and GOOD takeout in this area, this is the place to call.
Next time I’m in VA I will definitely need these Chi Mc wings — I’m craving them already — too bad I have to live so far!

This use to be Bön Chon until it was renamed Chi Mc. I talked to the owner and they didn’t want to pay for the franchise name so they just renamed the restaunrant, but still the same chicken. Every time I come here the chicken never disappoints me.
I came here once at 11pm because the power was out at my house during a storm, but dad wanted to watch FIFA. ugh, dads. The servers were really nice turning the tv to FIFA and interacting with us all night and the food was really good. I usually only eat the chicken, but their other foods are pretty good too!

Chi Mc is the bomb. Great food & Cold Beer. They are best known for their wings which are phenomenal. But the rest of the menu is good as well. The scallion pancakes have squid and they are great. As is the Kimchi rice. I have heard that their ramen bowls are decent but haven’t had one myself. They have a full bar and good beer selection. Also 3 different Korean bears. I highly recommend this restaurant. It’s one of the best in Annandale.

I wash myself with a rag on a stick.
I work from home so my work attire is as you can imagine, rather lax. That being said, the moment that I started buying sweatpants from Costco to use as as a ‘uniform’ of some sort was the same moment that I realized that I had officially given up on myself. Never one to do things halfheartedly, I decided to celebrate my bulk purchase of stretchy pants with some Korean Fried Chicken.
This was my first time dining in at at Korean Fried Chicken joint so I was surprised to find out that a lot of the people who come here call ahead and place their order since double and triple frying apparently takes a lot of time.
My friend and I decided to hunker down for the next 40 minutes with an order of their fries and we were not disappointed. One order comes in a huge basket and they are extremely addicting with their crisp outsides and soft, potatoey guts. This was a meal in itself!
We decided to do the half and half combo with legs and thighs. The legs were pretty much real drumsticks and were extra meaty. The soy garlic had a candy like texture and the crust was fried to perfection. My friend raved over the hot wings but they were just a bit too spicy for me.
They have lots of big screen televisions and a happy hour that goes on during the weekends so this would be the perfect place to watch football in a quiet environment that serves extra delicious game day food.
Service was okay. They got the job done but I don’t think they particularly cared about our table at all.

Crispy, light, flavorful, affordable, juicy Korean wings.
If you are in on a Saturday or Sunday, be sure to request Sung. Best server in there. He knows the menu from top to bottom. Can answer all of your questions.
I’m Caucasian and don’t know all of the Korean food, but I’m learning. He’s super helpful at pointing me to the things he knows I’ll like best.
Couldn’t be happier. Can’t wait to go back. I’m eating a wing as I write this. Soy glazed.
Highly recommend

The chicken here is bomb. The yang yum chicken is a Korean staple. It is a double fried chicken coated with flavorful sweet, spicy and salty sauce. The sauces vary from each restaurant and the sauces have a varied flavor. Most sauces are soy or chili based. The sauces are then pored over the steaming hot chicken in order to coat the chicken with a sauce. The sauce cooks and melts into and onto the crisp chicken skin. The sauce is loaded with sugar so the skin takes on a caramelized flavor note. The skin is super crispy and the sauce is very flavorful.
Keep in mind that the chicken takes 35 minutes to cook. Because the frying process is so intensive, please be aware of this cooking time before you order!
I really like the large chicken order. And at a little over 20 $ it’s cheap eats for sure! You can share the large with two people and be fully satisfied.
The service is great! The servers are super friendly and they make sure you have everything you need!

If you plan to eat in either call ahead or bring some friends because like most Korean fried chicken places, they make the wings to order and they take 30 to 40 minutes to make, so it’s best to plan ahead.
Service was okay, waiter was a little weird like he had ADD or was in a major rush for no reason, fast talking and only kind of listening. He was engaging but only halfway there.
Food is good, the soy garlic wings are a nice size and flavorful. Also happened to try the bulgogi, nice flavor, well cooked with a nice sweet kick.
Great place to have some wings and a beer and plenty of places to park.

Chi mc serves the same menu as bon chon. This is your spot if you like crispy, spicy, fried chicken wings!
Make sure to call your order in about 30−40mins ahead of time unless you’re prepared to wait. Everything is cooked to order and these wings take a while… You can’t rush perfection.
Thought the menu offers a variety of options, this restaurant specializes in wings. If you want other Korean dishes, I’d recommend checking out yechon or any of the other more established restaurants in the area.
They offer the option of drumsticks or wings. I much prefer the wings as they provide more ground for the sauce to cover… The drumsticks are just that, large drumsticks. Though delicious as well, they’re far meatier and don’t allow for as much sauce per bite.
The Sauces are both great soy garlic is more mild and sweeter. If you’re adventurous, you can order the wings extra spicy.
Servers here are very friendly.

I thought about doing a cheeky review for Review #69 — but then I said to myself, «nah, I’ll do Chi Mc»…
For those who might not know, Chi Mc is kind of Konglish and derives from «CHI,» the first syllable in the word chicken (Koreans also say chicken) and «MC,» which is the first syllable in the word Mec-​ju (transliterated from Korean characters).
Okay I’ll say it: Chi Mc is better than Bön Chon.
Chi Mc used to be part of the Bön Chon enterprise. Word has it that owner of Bön Chon actually lives in Korea and manages the business from overseas. An «unnamed source» indicated that when it was still Bön Chon, there was an ongoing complaint that chicken was only delivered fresh every three days, whereas they needed to have fresh deliveries daily due to demand. This location was bought out by the local handlers and, again, word has it that they retained the original and best «Korean fried chicken chef» in the area — he cannot be beat.
Differences between Chi Mc and Bön Chon are as follows. Although Chi Mc’s recipe has evolved slightly since giving up its original title (perhaps becoming more authentic), I know it to be less breaded or bready than Bön Chon, especially the wings at the popular Fairfax location. I like it better because I don’t want all that breading. The restaurant, even after its nice interior update, is still no frills, but has a relaxing vibe.
Bonus: Miller lite on tap cooled at a nice temperature.
Go for a combo (mixed drumsticks and wings) half & half (half spicy, half soy garlic) for variety.
The fries are also better than Bön Chon in my opinion. Bön Chon’s fries are little «fru fru,» arriving in a cone shaped, paper-​laden holder that comes in sweet potato or some gourmet-​type seasoning. Chi Mc gives you large basket of tasty, steaming hot fries.
Chi Mc good.